SpaceX reschedules Texas Starship launch for Thursday after first attempt was aborted

After engine problems forced a last-second abort of Starship's 13th flight from South Texas last week, SpaceX has set the mega-rocket's next launch attempt for Thursday.

A 90-minute launch window opens at Starbase at 5:45 p.m. CDT with backups on the following days. 

CEO Elon Musk added some confusion with a social media post that said the next launch attempt would be Friday. He later wrote, "I mean Thursday (duh)."

RELATED: SpaceX aborts planned 13th launch of Starship from South Texas after engine trouble

The Texas company had a similar malfunction with another of its rockets on Monday when a Falcon 9 attempting to launch from California had its engines shut down after they briefly ignited. SpaceX said it will reattempt that mission to carry 24 Starlink internet satellites to space on Tuesday.

While Starship is still in development, the workhorse Falcon 9s fly every few days from California or Florida and haven't had such an abort since June 2024. The two spacecraft use different types of engines, but the consecutive failures to launch haven't helped the Texas company on Wall Street.

SpaceX's stock, which has been declining since its record initial public offering last month, fell sharply after Thursday's problems and has continued to slide. SPCX shares closed Monday at $119.85, down about 20% since going public and a new low.

Launch aborted

Thursday's late abort was the first time a full-scale Starship launch was halted after the craft's engines had fired. 

"Some of the engines didn't start, triggering an automatic launch abort," Musk said on X.

A dashboard showing the rocket's status indicated four of the Super Heavy Booster's 33 Raptor engines failed to start when ignition began. The 29 that fired immediately shut down, leaving the rocket on its pad at Starbase.

Musk said at least two of the Raptor engines would be removed and replaced so as "to be confident of a good flight." 

NasaSpaceFlight.com reported Monday that at least three engines from the booster have arrived back at SpaceX's test facility in McGregor.

Flight No. 13  

When it lifts off, the mission will be the first to occur since SpaceX went public and the first to carry operational versions of the company's Starlink satellites to space.

The 20 Starlink satellites it will release won't join the company's constellation of about 10,800 orbiters providing internet connectivity to millions of people around the world. Instead, they will extend solar arrays and antennas and test "high-capacity lasers" to connect to the constellation before burning up in the atmosphere about 20 minutes after deployment.

PREVIEW: SpaceX Starship could launch Thursday from Texas with first Starlink payload

The mission will resemble past flights, with the craft's booster expected to land in the Gulf of Mexico while the upper-stage Starship will travel around the world at the edge of space for a landing in the Indian Ocean.   

Before getting the clearance for the 13th flight, Starship had been grounded since its last flight in May because its booster went off course and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico after separating from the upper-stage. The mishap forced six aircraft to delay departures and put another five into holding patterns, according to data from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The agency cleared Starship's return to flight last week after accepting SpaceX's investigation and subsequent upgrades.

SpaceX will provide a live webcast of the flight test on X (@SpaceX) and SpaceX.com beginning about 30 minutes before liftoff.

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